Cradled in the Hand of Our Maker

Little Wood Satyr

Hmmm, how much do yousee in this simple photograph?

Normally I crop my nature photos before using them in this journal to zoom in on the subject I was trying to capture. But as I looked at this photograph I decided that it should stay in its current form because of the many levels of meaning that could be attributed to it.

It is important that the butterfly in the photo – a Little Wood Satyr – is very common. If you go looking for butterflies near a wooded area on a typical summer day, you will see many of these little brown gems fluttering around. Why is that important? It is so because we can take this Satyr to be to be representative of the common man or woman in our society.

At first glance, the photograph can be taken simply as a representation of the beauty and bounty of nature in the bloom of summer. If you are not inclined to look any deeper, that is perfectly alright with me. But if you ponder the photo for a minute or two, a variety of other symbolic interpretations come to mind.

It might make you reflect on how small each of us are in the scope of the world in which we live. We are each the equivalent of one word in an epic novel.

It might make youreflect that life can be perilous at times. Each of us is a fragile creature ina world where a chance gust of wind could knock us off the perch we occupy withdire repercussions if we do not have a safety net.

It might make youreflect that the world is so designed that each of us does in fact have asafety net. If we slide off the leaf on which we are placed, there is anotherone waiting to catch us.

It might make you reflectthat regardless of how small and delicate we are, we are each capable ofamazing things if we dare to go where opportunity leads us.

It might make you reflectthat each individual life has moments of light and moments of twilight –moments when we shine in bright sunlight and moments when we slip into theshadow and our light dims for a while.

It might make youreflect that each of us has a niche in life that is set out and predeterminedfor us. We need only find our way to the green bower in which we are meant tolive.

And there is one moreinterpretation that occurs to me.

We are all cradled inthe protective hand of God. This does not mean that we will never have hardtimes or never be ill or never lose something or someone that is dear to us. Itdoes not mean that we can be reckless because we are shielded from harm or fromthe consequences of our own actions.

It does mean that whateverhappens to us or around us, whatever shadows pass across the world withworrisome intent, we remain cradled in the hand of our Maker. And if we slip,lose our footing and slide out of that hand, it reappears below us to catch usand break our fall.

I need not name the metaphor for you. It is there in living colour for all to see.

~ NowAvailable Online from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: HuntingMuskie, Rites of Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is alsothe author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel whichwas a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’swebsite at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

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